Abstract

The occurrence of skates (Rajidae) in the by-catch of trawl and long-line fisheries in the Barents Sea are described. The dominant species captured were thorny skate or starry ray (Amblyraja radiate), arctic skate (A. hyperborea) and round skate (Rajella fyllae), whereas blue or big skate (Dipturus batis) and sail ray (D. linteus) were only caught occasionally. Information on the size distribution and sex ratio are provided. Larger skates were more often caught in long-line fisheries, with the mean and maximum length of fish greater in long-line catches, particularly for the larger-bodied species. Ratio of males to females was close to 1:1 in all species except for arctic skate where males dominated in the long-line fishery. Preliminary estimates of skate by-catch in these fisheries indicate that total annual by-catch of skate in the Barents Sea ranges from 723–1 891 tons. Thorny skate accounted for 90–95% of the total skate catch.